London: MET plans to criminalise homelessness in 6 boroughs – Protest Wednesday 26th 10am

By: dolph-l - February 23rd, 2014  Filed under: News

Over 500 protesters expected to confront London Mayor Boris Johnson’s Question Time on Wednesday

The Met have announced plans to make ‘rough sleeping’ a crime in 6 London boroughs. Operation Encompass will be in effect in Camden, Islington, Lambeth, Southwark and Westminster, alongside Croydon.

We are opposed to this latest attack on Homeless people and will protest at City Hall to tell Boris Johnson and the Greater London Authority (GLA) to call off this hideous campaign criminalising some of the most vulnerable people in our city. Already there have been arrests of people whose only crime is to be homeless due to the lack of Shelter spaces and suitable accomodation. [Read More]

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Barnstaple, North Devon: Local Pub Squatted

By: dolph-l - February 23rd, 2014  Filed under: News

Residence of Forchers housing estate in Barnstaple, North Devon have occupied their pub The Borough Arms which is due to be knocked down to make way for flats as part of a “regeneration” scheme.

The locals have taken their building back and hope to save it from from the re-development as they highlight a lack of local facilities.

The occupation, which has been underway for a week has been met with positive media attention, click here for mainstream media video full report . [Read More]

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Richmond, London: Bailiff arrested after rooftop protest against illegal eviction attempt

By: dolph-l - February 21st, 2014  Filed under: News

A squatter staged a rooftop protest and a bailiff was arrested after a stand-off in Richmond on Wednesday afternoon.

The bailiff, a 30-year-old man, was arrested after letting himself into the commercial building, 127-133 Sheen Road, by putting his hand through a letterbox to undo a latch.

The arrest came after the road was closed in both directions, causing major traffic problems, after a squatter locked himself on the roof of the three-storey building, threatening to jump unless people left. [Read More]

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Calais: Fascists mobilise against squatters. International call-out for support and solidarity

By: midnight - February 20th, 2014  Filed under: Communique, News
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Tomorrow, Friday 21st Feb, fascists have called a day and evening demonstration outside a new squat in Coulogne. This is the accumulation of five days of heavy fascist activity in the Calais area.

In the last few months a racist anti-migrant group, ‘Sauvons Calais’ have mobilised in Calais to ‘defend Calais from migrants’. Last week people squatted a farm house in Coulogne and since Sunday evening groups of up to 50 fascists and angry neighbours have had almost a constant presence outside the building.

The fascist’s actions this week have ranged from shouting insults at the people inside, throwing rocks, fireworks and standing there for hours on end. At 7am on Tuesday morning three fascists, who had been out drinking all night tried to break into the squat with a sledge hammer. Two of them were arrested. Members of the demonstration have also been recorded making death threats against migrants. [Read More]

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Calais, France: The Battle of Coulogne

By: dolph-l - February 19th, 2014  Filed under: News

Translation of article from fr.squat.net:

The spark launched by the Mayor of Calais with his call to denounce squats on facebook last October by the Save Calais page, and the handshake of two assistants to the mayor of Calais over their anti-migrant protesters in November, shows that this attack is invited to Coulogne.

Activists of Save Calais rallied in front of a recently opened Coulogne squat, a previously empty house. A banner  presenting themselves as residents, with ‘alarm bells’ sounding to the real residents – in an attempt to sow the seed of fear of an invasion of migrants. [Read More]

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Hamburg: Come to the Squatting Days!

By: sisulscz - February 19th, 2014  Filed under: Communique

From August, 27th till 31st we will make Squatting a topic again. Let’s exchange experiences together, lets discuss, roam the streets and start some action.

Reasons for squatting are numerous and various: To protest against unaffordable and rising rent, to prevent a building from being teared down, out of the need of new, self-organised and uncomercial spaces, for living, as ateliers, workshops, cultural centres and many many more.
[Read More]

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Camden, London: Leisure Centre Update

By: dolph-l - February 19th, 2014  Filed under: Interviews, News

Squatters have taken over a leisure centre that has been left empty for two years, pledging to turn it into a place for the community.

A group of 14 people have taken up residency in the Mornington Sports Centre, in Arlington Road, which has been vacant since being sold off by the council.

The building was due to be turned into private homes, but developers have been slowed down by wrangling over planning permission.  [Read More]

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Prague: Neklanove Squat Evicted

By: dolph-l - February 19th, 2014  Filed under: Communique, News, Press release

On Friday, the 7th February in the early evening, police evicted the “silent squat” in Neklanova street in Prague 2, used exclusively for housing. The house owned by an Italian company who have cleared the house besides one tenant who welcomed the ‘squatters’. During the intervention, which was without unjustified violence by the security forces, sixteen people were arrested, including several onlookers who came to support the squatters.

[Read More]

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Maastricht: Information about the eviction of the Mandril Cultural and Political Centre (MCPC) and its future

By: fawda - February 18th, 2014  Filed under: Communique, News

As some of you might know, the Mandril will soon get evicted – on the 1st of April we (the MCPC and the people who live here) must have left the building.

This is because the area will be renovated and new projects will inhabit these buildings. Our cultural freezone siblings the Hotel the Ossekop needed to be demolished for this, a big part of the Cultuurfront (also a cultural freezone) was also eaten by the bulldozer in a surprising turn of events and so the Mandril too must make space. Our own building will be filled up by the Toneelgroep Maastricht (theatre group), and soon the indie film house Lumiere will be relocated to another empty building on the terrain, next to the Muziekgieterij. [Read More]

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Utrecht: new squat in the city center

By: fawda - February 16th, 2014  Filed under: Communique, News
Van_Sijpesteijnkade_25_Utrecht

This morning a house on the Van Sijpesteijnkade 25 has been squatted. The police has passed by and is deciding if they are going to do something. The building is property of NS, who is buying a lot of buildings around the station for huge development plans. The whole street will be demolished on short terms, but because this building is a monument they integrated it into the new building plans and it wont be demolished. When these plans will take place is still unclear.
The neighborhood has protested the plans to demolish the street. The buildings are beautiful, there is a lot of history in these buildings and they are in good conditions to live in. The plans for the new buildings are dull, grey and not inspiring. The demolition of this street is a shame, but is made possible because the old residents have been replaced years ago for anti-squat. Anti-squatters can be kicked out on short notice. [Read More]

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Amsterdam: Joe’s Garage, Newsletter February 2014

By: Hlulome - February 15th, 2014  Filed under: News
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During the last months various squats were opened and closed in Amsterdam and surroundings. Yet, the eviction procedure is becoming easier for the cops. Recently, the police came out with an old trick, the speed- eviction: despite squatting being illegal, squatters still have the right to domestic peace, to get notified 8 weeks in advance, and to be able to start a court case to defend themselves. However, in the last weeks two office buildings in the Amsterdam’s surroundings were evicted by regular cops without any notice, just a few days after the occupation. The squatters were arrested and quickly released without charges.
Evictions without notice and without a court ruling are illegal, as they violate the right to domestic privacy of the inhabitants. The cops know this well, but too often they put themselves ‘above the law’ to serve the interests of private property owners.
To stop the trend of illegal speed-evictions, the Amsterdam squatting groups are about to sue the state, and made a call out to other groups of squatters for collecting cases of speed-eviction. [Read More]

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Netherlands: Court case against speed eviction

By: fawda - February 10th, 2014  Filed under: Communique, News
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The police is threatening squatted buildings in Amsterdam and surroundings with speed-evictions, which means eviction without previous notice nor decision by a judge. One of the tools to reverse this trend is to start a court-case against speed eviction.

On October 1st, 2010 , the new law 138A on ” Squatting and Vacancy ‘ was included in the Penal Code. Although this law defines squatting as a crime, squatters still have the right to domestic peace. This means that the police is not allowed to evict squatted buildings without notice and without a court sentence. Thus speed eviction constitute a violation to this right, violation that is allowed only in situations of emergency. This state of ”emergency” could be applied when the property was still in use at the time it was squatted, in case of dangerous situation or when there is disturbance of public order. Only in these cases the police can decide to evict the squat immediately. [Read More]

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